


Nightmares

by Panic_CelestialInk



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Nightmares, OT3, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-OT3, Pre-Relationship, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 06:23:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15835569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panic_CelestialInk/pseuds/Panic_CelestialInk
Summary: Ever since his first trip to the Digital World, Joe has had nightmares. And, they always become worse around the beginning of August





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Hi All.
> 
> Okay, so for those who know me, I apologise for not working on "Forged in Fire". Rest assured, it hasn't been discarded, but as you know that story is difficult for me to write, so I thought I'd take a little break. I wrote this story as a present for a friend since she ships Mimi/Izzy/Joe and she said I must post it.
> 
> It's set ten years after Digimon Adventure, but as I haven't watched Digimon Tri, I'm pretending the events of Tri have not happened. 
> 
> Also, sorry for using the dub names, but I grew up with them and using the other names felt a bit strange to me. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_“_ No!”

 

Joe thrashed. Sheets tangled his arms and legs. He screamed

 

_Piedmon! He’s got me!_

 

He lashed out, rolling as he tried to free himself—and tumbled out of bed. He groaned. For a moment, he just lay there as his brain tried to process what had happened.

 

_It was a nightmare. Just another stupid a nightmare. Everyone is fine. Gomamon is fine. Izzy’s fine. Mimi’s fine. You’re fine. Everyone is fine._ The words didn’t do a thing to calm his thundering heart.

 

He squirmed free of the sheets, and tossed them to one side. Then, he pushed himself into a seated position, and lay back against the side of his bed. He took several deep breaths, and pressed his palm to his chest.  He could feel the cold sweat through his pyjamas.  He sighed, and groped for the light switch. After a few fumbled attempts, he managed to turn on his bedside lamp. Then, he slipped on his glasses and took a good look around his room.

 

Sure enough, everything was in its place. His textbooks and papers were piled high on the desk. His clothes were neatly folded on top of one of his chairs. His medical kit was in the corner of the room, alongside the duffle bag he kept ready at all times. He’d started keeping the duffle bag prepared after he’d first returned from the Digital World, and he kept it packed full of anything that might come in useful—dried food, a cooking pot, a flask for water, rope, cord for fishing, flint, a small pocket knife, a compass, another medical kit, and other assorted paraphernalia. It made him feel less anxious to know that, should another crisis arise in the Digital World, he had a bag packed and ready to go.

 

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Had it really been ten years since they’d first entered the Digital World? Ten years of fighting megalomaniacal monsters and saving the world, yet it still felt like their first adventure had only happened yesterday.

 

_And, I haven’t seen a Digimon in months. Not since the barriers between the worlds went up again._

 

Something twisted in his heart, as he remembered that moment. It had been just an ordinary day with the eight Digidestined and their partners just hanging out in the park. Tai, Sora, T.K and Kari had been playing football with the Digimon, whilst Matt and Gabumon had sat to one side and watched. Mimi had sat on the picnic blanket with Izzy, Palmon and Tentomon as Izzy explained a new feature on his computer. Joe had been carrying Gomamon because—though the stubborn little Digimon would never admit it—he’d been struggling to keep up with the others.

 

Then, the world had gone dark. The wind had shrieked, and whipped around them. He remembered Izzy shouting something about a porthole—and then the sky above them tore open, like it had been made of rice paper. The air was suddenly full of screaming as the Digimon were yanked upwards. Gomamon yelled as he was ripped out of Joe’s arms and sucked through the tear.

 

Joe would never forget that terrifying moment when he thought Gomamon was gone for good.

 

Thankfully, Izzy—brilliant, wonderful Izzy—had managed to contact the Digimon. They were unharmed, but trapped in the Digital World—and the barriers between the worlds were in place once more. Still, Izzy had promised them all that he’d find a solution. But . . .  it had been hard on all the Digidestined. More than once, Joe had found himself acting as a comforter, either to a raging Matt, or depressed Kari, or a bleak T.K. The worst was when Mimi had clung to him and sobbed. It bothered him when Mimi cried. It bothered him _a lot._

  

Joe sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. He missed Gomamon—sometimes it felt like he had a gaping wound in his chest. Gomamon knew all about Joe’s nightmares and anxieties. Just like Joe knew all of Gomamon’s secret doubts and fears.Joe closed his eyes briefly, and images flickered through his mind. Swords sailing through the air. A face painted to look like a jester’s, though no jester had ever had such a cruel smirk on its face. Deadly white sheets sailing through the air.

 

Joe shuddered, and glanced at the alarm clock on his side table.

 

_It’s two in the morning, Joe. It’s too early to call anyone. Just get back into bed and go to sleep._

 

He got to his feet, and glanced at his bed. A cold quiver went down his spine at the sight of his rumpled sheets. He stepped away from them and flopped down into his desk chair.

 

_Joe, no one is awake this early. Just get back to sleep._

 

Instead of listening to his rational mind, Joe flipped open his laptop and hit the “on” button. It took him several minutes to type in his password with his shaking fingers, but soon the machine whirred to life. He checked his contacts. Although he worried about all the Digidestined, he seemed to worry more about Izzy and Mimi than the others. He felt a wave of relief as he saw the little green lights that told him that both Izzy and Mimi were online. Then, he frowned as he wondered why.  He clicked their icons, and the room filled with the noise of a ringing phone.

 

Unsurprisingly, Izzy was the first one to pick up. Joe’s screen suddenly filled with a live feed of Izzy’s room. Joe blinked as he took in what he was seeing—the stereotypical room of a messy genius. There were several cups of tea littering what Joe could see of the desk, and a few more on a tray placed precariously on Izzy’s bed. The room was almost completely dark, and Joe resisted the urge to lecture Izzy about the dangers of straining his eyes.

 

As for Izzy himself, he was wearing a pair of loose pyjamas with the sleeves rolled up to above his elbow. His eyes were alight as they usually were when Izzy worked on his computer. Joe’s palm itched with the need to run his hands through the man’s short, rumpled hair. He shook himself and said “Hi, Izzy.”

 

“Hi, Joe,” Izzy frowned. “What are you doing calling me so late? Not that I mind talking to you, of course. But, our conversations tend to take place during a more socially acceptable time and—”

 

“Why on earth are you two up so late?” Mimi’s cry filled the room and a moment later, she appeared on the other half of Joe’s screen. Her live feed gave Joe a clear view of her surroundings. Unlike Izzy’s room, hers was brightly lit, and Joe could see that there was an inordinate number of soft toys scattered about. Mimi’s clothes joined them, and Joe’s eyes bugged as he noted the number of shoes, hats, scarves, and accessories Mimi had.

 

Mimi yawned, and Joe’s attention snapped to her. Like Izzy, her hair was rumpled, but that wasn’t what he stared at. His eyes honed in on the sleeveless pyjamas she wore. The pyjama top exposed the creamy skin of her neck, and he wanted to reach through the screen and touch the strap that slipped tantalisingly off her one shoulder.

 

“Joe, don’t you know what time it is?” she asked, stopping Joe’s thoughts were they were.

 

“Erm . . . early?” He hoped that neither of them noticed how red his cheeks had gone.

 

“Too early. This is when the normal people get their beauty sleep.”

 

“Then, why are you awake?” Izzy asked.

 

Then, he realised what had come out of his mouth. “Not that I think you need beauty sleep, you’re beautiful already and—I’m going to shut up now.”

 

Izzy clamped his mouth shut, and Joe saw Izzy’s cheeks go red. Mimi was blushing too.

 

Well, Izzy certainly wasn’t wrong. Mimi was gorgeous, with her golden-brown eyes and long, wavy hair. But, Joe couldn’t help thinking that Izzy overlooked his own attractiveness.

 

Joe pushed aside the thoughts again. His lack of sleep was making him loopy—making him think about things that he didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with at the moment.

 

“Anyway . . . why are you awake?” Joe asked her.

 

“I’m still jetlagged from my trip. And you?” she asked Izzy.

 

“You know I’m always up late,” Izzy said. “I’m usually very productive at night. Sometimes, I think sleep is a waste of time.”

 

“I know,” Joe said.

 

One of Joe’s main priorities while they had been in the Digital World had been—other than deterring the others from foolhardy courses of action—to make sure that Izzy got enough sleep.

 

“Izzy,” Joe began, “you know that you need to get a good amount of sleep if—”

 

“You’re one to talk,” Mimi pointed out.

 

“What?”

 

 “You don’t look well,” Mimi said. “You look like you haven’t slept in months.”

 

Joe nervously fiddled with his glasses. “No, no. I’m fine.”

 

“Joe. I think you should take a look at yourself.” Izzy typed something onto his keyboard, and suddenly Joe’s screen was filled with an image of himself. Joe winced. His skin was wax-pale and the dark rings around his eyes made him look like he’d lost a fistfight. Worse, though Joe knew he was scrawny, his clothes hung off of him like a scarecrow.

 

The screen flickered and Joe was looking at Mimi and Izzy again. He fidgeted under their concerned gazes.

 

“You see, Joe? You look terrible. Is something wrong?” she asked.

 

“I’m just not sleeping well,” Joe said, and rubbed the back of his neck. He shouldn’t have logged on and started talking to them. There must have been an easier way to check on their well being. A way that didn’t involve him being interrogated by the two of them.

 

“I deduced that,” Izzy said. “But, maybe the appropriate thing to do is to tell us why. Is it your exams again?”

 

Joe shook his head. “No. This is . . . normal for me.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I always sleep badly around this time of year,” Joe admitted quietly.

 

Understanding lit up Mimi’s eyes. “Oh . . . the Anniversary?”

 

“Yeah”

 

Joe wasn’t sure which of the original eight Digidestined had started calling the first few days of August the “Anniversary”—it was probably Tai or Matt—but the name stuck. And, it had been Kari who suggested that they commemorate the days of their life-altering adventure by spending it together. Every year, the eight of them made their best effort to meet up—usually in the Digital World. The day would always be bittersweet—a mixture of remembering the hilarious and heart-warming moments, along with the terror and grief they’d experienced.  

 

Izzy frowned at him. “Why haven’t you mentioned anything about this before?”

 

Joe shrugged. “I usually have Gomamon to talk to, but since the walls between the worlds went up, I haven’t been able to contact him.”

 

“Joe, I p _romise_ you I’m working as best as I—”

 

“No, no, no! Izzy, please, I really didn’t mean it like that, okay? I know you’re working hard at this. The last thing I want to do is add to your pressure.”

 

“Yep,” Mimi said as she nodded. “We all know that you’ll find a way for us to get back to the Digital World.”

 

Some of the tension eased in Izzy’s shoulders and Joe sighed in relief. Then, Izzy said “Joe, what are your nightmares about?”

 

Joe blinked. “What?”

 

“Your nightmares. What are they about? You said you can’t talk to Gomamon but there’s no reason why you can’t talk to us.” Mimi said.

 

Joe hesitated, and Mimi looked a little hurt. “Don’t you trust us?”

 

“Of course I do. It’s just . . .”

 

Izzy’s eyes were gentle. “Don’t worry, Joe. You don’t have to, if you’re not comfortable.”

 

“But, how’s he ever going to sleep if he doesn’t talk about what’s bothering him?” Mimi demanded.

 

“Mimi,” Izzy started, but Joe held up a hand.

 

“No. She’s right. It’s just that there’s no one thing that I have nightmares about.” Memories flashed through his mind. Devimon towering over them all. Myotismon sending waves of vicious bats to rip them apart. Piedmon impaling them with his swords.

 

 But, worse were the other images. Images of the bodies of the others strewn across the ground. He could see it so clearly—Gomamon disintegrating into tiny airborne fragments. Mimi’s body sprawled across the ground, with a gaping hole where her chest should be. Or, Izzy slumped over his laptop and bleeding.

 

No, those weren’t memories. They were images from the depths of his personal hell.

 

Izzy drummed his fingers against the desk. “That makes a lot of sense. After all, we had number of traumatic experiences in the Digital World.” He reached for a cup of tea, and winced. “Damn, I hate it when it gets cold. . . . what was I saying?”

 

“You were saying something about us and trauma,” Joe said.

 

“Yes. As I was saying, I have lots of different nightmares as well. In fact, I’ve been trying to map out a chart to see if there is any correlation between the time of year and the type of nightmare I have. Oh, and to see which is the most frequently occurring one, of course.”

 

“What did you figure out?” Joe asked.

 

“I need more data to properly map out a correlation, but it seems like my biggest nightmares stem from  . . . ” Izzy trailed off and his eyes became haunted. Mimi and Joe exchanged a worried look.

 

Joe leant forward. “Izzy . . .” Joe wished he could reach through the screen and comfort the young genius.

 

“It’s all right. It’s just . . . I remember Vademon.”

 

Mimi shuddered. “Is that the creepy brain guy who stole your curiosity?”

 

Izzy nodded, and he huddled in on himself. It was something he rarely spoke about to anyone. Joe could only imagine how horrific that must have been—to have a part of your personality torn out and kept as a trinket for a crazy collector. To be turned into some kind of _plaything_ for a monster.

 

Mimi leant closer to the screen. “Izzy, you know that Joe and I will never let anything like that happen to you again. If anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll knock them into next week.”

 

Joe had no doubt that she would. She had done it when boys—and Digimon—didn’t to accept her refusal to go out with them.

 

“We definitely won’t let anything happen to you,” Joe confirmed.

 

The shadows didn’t quite leave Izzy’s eyes, but he managed to give them both a grateful almost-smile.

 

“Thanks.  I . . . thank you both.”

 

“It’s all right, Izzy. We’ve all got those things that we’re scared of,” Joe said.

 

“Yeah, even I have nightmares,” Mimi said.

 

“Really?” Izzy asked.

 

“Yeah. But, they started back in the Digital World, so I don’t know if they really count.”

 

“When did they start?”

 

She bit her lip.  “They started when I got caught up with the whole “ _Princess Mimi_ ” thing. I had nightmares about Etemon and Devimon and when I called for help you and Tai didn’t answer,” Mimi tapped her chin as she thought. “Maybe it was those dreams that helped me come to my senses, I don’t know.”

 

“Well, if they did, I’m glad. You were a real . . .” Joe hesitated.

 

“Bitch?” Mimi supplied. “I know. I’m just happy that you and Tai forgave me.”

 

“I’m happy you didn’t leave me and Tai to rot in the dungeon.”

 

Izzy snorted, and that made both Joe and Mimi chuckle. The sound made something ease in Joe’s heart. But, a moment later, Mimi was serious again.

 

“And you, Joe?”

 

“What?”

 

“What are yours about?” Izzy asked.

 

Joe swallowed hard. “Well, the worst one is . . . drowning.”

 

“Drowning?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

It wasn’t a lie, exactly. He did dream about the moment when he’d fallen into the filthy waters of Tokyo Bay. The moment when the cold flooded his lungs as he thrashed and tried to find air. And—

 

“You nearly drowned trying to save T.K., didn’t you?” Izzy asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Joe looked away. That was always the worst part of his nightmares—when the other Digidestined were in peril, and he couldn’t do anything to save them.

 

“That sounds pretty traumatic,” Izzy said.

 

“It’s all right. It’s just a dream,” Joe said.

 

“Obviously it’s not,” Izzy countered, “Since they’re keeping you awake.”

 

“Izzy’s right. We need to do something.”

 

“Like what?” Joe asked.

 

Izzy drummed his fingers against the desk. “Well, I know my mom has lots of traditional home remedies to promote a peaceful sleep. Maybe I should ask her? Or I could research into cures for insomnia?”

 

Mimi idly twirled a strand of her hair as she thought. “You know, since none of us are sleeping, anyway, why don’t we all stay awake together?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Why don’t we go over to someone’s house, and just spend the night there. That way we all won’t be alone when we’re awake into the late hours, and if we do have nightmares, the others are right there.”

 

There was a long moment of silence. Then, Izzy said “That’s a prodigious idea, Mimi,” Izzy said, “But, I’m afraid I can’t offer my house at the moment. My parents are back from their holiday.”

 

“You two could come over to mine,” she said. “It’s a bit small, but we can easily make do.”

 

Joe winced as he tried to imagine the three of them squeezing into her apartment. “Don’t worry, Mimi,” Joe said. “You two are more than welcome to come over to my place.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Of course. I have a sleeper couch, and a spare room so there’s plenty of space.”

 

A picture formed in Joe’s mind. The three of them curled on the couch with blankets spread over them. A bowl of buttery popcorn in his lap for them all to share. The smell of Mimi’s perfume floating in the air, and the comforting clack of Izzy’s fingers hitting the keyboard. Something warm filled his chest, and he struggled to speak.

 

“Prodigious!” Izzy said.

 

“So, we’ll all stay over at Joe’s place until the Anniversary is over?”

 

“That’s the plan,” Joe said.

 

Mimi beamed, and Izzy’s smile was equally infectious.

 

“Great! It’s a date!” she said. “I’ve—”

 

“ _Izzy?!”_ Izzy’s eyes went wide. Bright light suddenly filled Izzy’s room, and Joe could hear footsteps outside Izzy’s door. “Are you still on the computer? Do you realise what time it is?”

 

Izzy looked panicked. “That’s my mom. I’ve got to go. Bye!”

 

Izzy’s side of the screen went dark. Mimi sighed.

 

“There goes Izzy.”

 

“I sometimes feel sorry for his mom.” Joe said. “I know how hard it is to drag Izzy away from the computer.”

 

Mimi giggled. “You’re right about that. Now, I’ve got to get ready, there’s so much to pack. Bye!”

 

Mimi blew him a kiss, and then Mimi’s side of the screen went dark. Joe felt the blood rushing to his cheeks and cleared his throat as he closed the machine. He was looking forward to—Mimi’s words hit him like a sledgehammer and he  fell out his chair.

 

_Did she just say DATE!?_

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, what did you guys think?I hope everyone was in character, and that the emotions came across well?


End file.
